General Site Information

The SCA side of this program is based out of beautiful Boise, ID. Here in the SCA Boise office you'll find the home for all planning and operational support. With our access to internet, telephones and voicemails, the full range of office amenities, and a coffee maker we are able to maintain the extensive communications necessary to efficiently run our field visits and also process the considerable amount of spatial data that is collected in the field. This is where the all the pieces are put together both before a hitch and after.

As for housing, the SCA members are living in an apartment building immediately behind the SCA office. There is a male apartment and a female apartment. Between swimming in the pool, playing racquetball, and lounging in the rec. room’s mini theater there are plenty of ways to spend time off. With easy access to the Boise Greenbelt, we are able to get just about anywhere in town within a 20 minute bike ride

The goal of the SCA/USFWS Trails Inventory program is to provide the Fish and Wildlife Service with a comprehensive and accurate inventory of all trails on USFWS sites across the country. This is certainly an ambitious project as there are over 600 USFWS sites nationwide. This project will take us to every corner of the country, to high mountains and low deserts through bayous and fjords.

The 2012 effort picks up where the 2011 Trails Inventory left off, this time with the purpose of recording not only new trails added since the first survey in 2006, but all remaining trails in the system. We have 6 interns serving for 4 months to complete this effort, supervised by a roving coordinator (returning veteran Michael Molloy) and a manager (Alex Olsen, who supervised the 2011 effort) based in Boise. You can read all about who the interns are in the member bios section!

Attached to this page you can find a list of all the refuges we plan to visit this year. We are literally traveling to every corner of the country: from the tip of Maine to Southern California, from Washington state to the Florida Keys, and throw in Puerto Rico and Alaska to boot!

We are all extremely excited for this opportunity as it provides the chance to perform an important service to the USFWS, expand our own knowledge and expertise, and experience many different parts of the country for the first time.

Uriah Stone, a hunter in the 1700's, navigated up a small river that was later named in his honer. He was taken aback at the beauty of the open grasslands and forrested areas that teemed with wildlife. These hunting grounds were utilized by Chickasaw, Creeks, Shawnees, and Cherokees. Stewart's Ferry Reservoir was created under the Flood Control Act of 1946 and was later renamed J. Percy Priest after the late congressman from Tennessee. Construction on the 33,0540-acre project began in 1963 and was completed by 1968.

J. Percy Priest Dam impounds a lake 42 miles long and can be seen from I 40. 10,000 acres of lands are devoted for wildlife managment and is surrounded by 18,854 acres of public lands. It is located 10 miles from Nashville providing a variety of outdoor recreational activities such as camping, fishing, hiking, swimming, canoeing, boating and others.

Located in North-Central Tennessee, Cordell Hull Lake covers approximately twelve thousand acres. The lake is named after the American Politician Cordell Hull who was from the great state of Tennessee and is best known as the longest serving Secretary of State. Hull also received the Noble Piece Prize for his role in helping establish the United Nations.

Cordell Hull Lake is a part of the Cumberland River which stretches 688 miles across Kentucky and Tennessee. Activities to enjoy around the lake include fishing, hunting, camping, picnicking, boating, hiking, swimming, and multiple other ways to enjoy nature. The annual weather in Tennessee allows for visitors to enjoy the park for an extended recreational season. Popular species of fish that are commonly found in the lake are Bass, Rockfish, Catfish, and Crappie.

The Roaring River site at Cordell Hull Lake provides visitors with a lot of different ways to enjoy their time at the site. The Roaring River site has a beach area, play ground, sand volleyball court, trails, and boat ramps. If you come to visit Cordell Hull Lake I can promise you that you will not be disappointed with your decision.

The Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest encompasses more than 4-million acres in Washington state and stretches north to south from the Canadian border to the Goat Rocks Wilderness - a distance of about 180 miles. The forest lies east of the Cascade Crest, which defines its western boundary. The eastern edge of the forest extends into the Okanogan highlands, then south along the Okanogan and Columbia Rivers, and then to the Yakima River valley. Because of this wide geographic range, the forest is very diverse - from the high, glaciated alpine peaks along the Cascade Crest and the numerous mountain ranges extending eastward from the crest, through deep, lush valleys of old growth forest, to the dry and rugged shrub-steppe country at its eastern edge. Elevations range from below 1,000 ft. to over 9,000 ft. Precipitation varies widely - from more than 70-inches along the crest to less than 10-inches at its eastern edge. This of course greatly affects the forest and vegetation types across the area.

The Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest is most noted for a wide range of recreation opportunities. There truly is "something for everyone" who likes to have fun in the outdoors.